COLD temps in Danube ports..is river frozen ?

[remydiva]

The Upper Rhine river is open for traffic again.

 

steamboats

 

Thanks steamboat...what news do you hear about the Danube water levels?

[Yggdrasil98]

I'm at Passau on the Danube and we're delayed.

 

The river is closed by "the police" until it drops 7cm. We are being bussed to Regensberg tomorrow, and hope to sail to Deggendorf to make the 50 min trip.

 

We will get a further update tomorrow afternoon.

[remydiva]

I'm at Passau on the Danube and we're delayed.

 

The river is closed by "the police" until it drops 7cm. We are being bussed to Regensberg tomorrow, and hope to sail to Deggendorf to make the 50 min trip.

 

We will get a further update tomorrow afternoon.

 

Yikes...sounds like your cruise is continuing past Passau. Our cruise is Passau to Budapest on the Njord...wonder how that ship is fairing...have you seen it?

 

Meanwhile I found this thrilling video posted on a website as a Viking ship inches under a bridge on dec 21

 

http://www.avidcruiser.com/river/2012/12/water-levels-and-european-river-cruising/

[Yggdrasil98]

We are headed in the opposite direction to Amsterdam. Definitely under the bridge for Passau :)

 

Yes I have seen the Njord, but a few days back, sorry I can't recall where, but it was not long after we started, so around Budapest.

 

They hope it will drop, but I personally feel that they are softening us up for the blow! Hate buses! I guess we all do, which is why we chose river cruising LOL. We'll see no doubt, the rain forecast and warm temperatures are not good as the snow is still melting ahead of us.

[steamboats]

The Danube river is falling again. Passau is below the high water level. There are still two gauges which are on level 1 but also falling.

 

High water is coming fast but it´s also falling pretty fast. So right now it´s just a matter of 2 or 3 days which do affect river traffic.

 

steamboats

[remydiva]

The Danube river is falling again. Passau is below the high water level. There are still two gauges which are on level 1 but also falling.

 

High water is coming fast but it´s also falling pretty fast. So right now it´s just a matter of 2 or 3 days which do affect river traffic.

 

steamboats

 

You are giving us fantastic service.

 

..when i contacted viking they just said they had not heard anything from their ships..vague and unhelpful. I guess their thoughts are "no news is good news" but i just like to know as much info as possible.

 

We fly out tomorrow and due in passau late afternoon dec 29 so your post sounds very positive. Thank you.

[Yggdrasil98]

Not falling on the Danube between Deggendorf and Regensberg, we are still stuck, and no fall at all in the water level since lunchtime. So we are berthed at "nowhere" waiting on hourly reports from the authorities.

 

Tonight we have been told it will be a 2 hour bus journey each way to Nuremberg tomorrow :(.

 

Rain is forecast all night.

[Doug6388]

Not falling on the Danube between Deggendorf and Regensberg, we are still stuck, and no fall at all in the water level since lunchtime. So we are berthed at "nowhere" waiting on hourly reports from the authorities.

 

Tonight we have been told it will be a 2 hour bus journey each way to Nuremberg tomorrow :(.

 

Rain is forecast all night.

 

That does not sound like fun at all...the berthing at nowhere, 2 hrs bus trip each way and RAIN.

 

I know we all know that Mother Nature can alter our plans but while we prepare for the worst, we always hope and pray for the best...especially true when on a special holiday trip. Fingers crossed for you that things improve and soon.

[Yggdrasil98]

Sounds awful to me too! No change, and we now have another boat, AMA I think tied up next to us too. And I would much prefer the freezing dry weather we were expecting.

 

There seems to info regarding where to from here, 2 hours is my upper limit for each direction to go somewhere in pouring rain! We have no update this morning as yet.

[remydiva]

Sounds awful to me too! No change, and we now have another boat, AMA I think tied up next to us too. And I would much prefer the freezing dry weather we were expecting.

 

There seems to info regarding where to from here, 2 hours is my upper limit for each direction to go somewhere in pouring rain! We have no update this morning as yet.

 

Since you are being delayed and on the boat to 'nowhere' right now, and I am assuming you are missing ports of call and tours that you should be taking, is AMA giving you any idea of what or how to compensate the passengers for the inconvenience?

 

Meanwhile, no money makes up for a lost holiday and I am sorry you are going through this. We fly out to Munich in just over 12 hrs and have had no contact from Viking so I guess we will assume that it is full steam ahead.

 

I will update when I have first hand information.

[steamboats]

According to the local authorities the Danube river is below high water mark from Kelheim til Passau. And looking on the gauges the river is falling. You can check easily on this website

 

http://www.hnd.bayern.de/

 

Just click on the Danube river and mouse over the colored dots. The river is still high and some spots have a forecast for a rising river. Even when the river is below the high water mark there can be restrictions to navigation. The decision is up to the captain and the situation can change every minute.

 

We had some storms and rain during the night. There´s more rain in the North which will affect the Rhine river again.

 

steamboats

[Yggdrasil98]

remydiva, we have the 2 hour coach trip each way to Nuremburg today which I am dreading, and obscurely (from our perspective) we don't leave until 9.45 therefore don't return until 5.30, hanging around after a normal timed breakfast to come back late, tired and grumpy isn't ideal IMHO.

 

We are being given 20EUR lunch money. Otherwise we are so far just being bussed. Not sure which the other AMA boat is now docked with us, no doubt they are in the same position as us though.

 

Good luck with your trip :)

[sailoruk]

When one books a river cruise, one expects to "cruise" this is not always the case , nature does it thing - it stated very clearly in our documentation - subject to water levels etc. - when we were recently on the Rhone, we were supposed to sail up and down the Soane, but we could not sail "under" the bridges, so we had an extra day in Lyon, we personally enjoyed strolling around the town, whereas most pax went on tour, we make the most of every opportunity.

Just my bit of input on this thread ;)

[Yggdrasil98]

Absolutely, the weather just happens, they can't control it. Doesn't mean I want to spend 4 hours on a coach though. I'm river cruising to avoid this.

 

Our trip tomorrow is now not the medieval Bamberg which is a beautiful town, but another full day bus trip to Munich which I am sure will be enjoyed by those who go.

 

Not complaining about the weather per se, it's a downer, and very disappointing as this is a repeat cruise intinerary for us, but it's chalk and cheese! You pay your money, and come what may!

 

Just keeping those who asked updated :)

 

ETA: It's the Amacerto docked next to us, not the Amacello (reception were wrong!) and we had a 16cm river drop and hope to move on a little sometime in the next 12 hours.

[steamboats]

Yggdrasil98,

 

You should go and visit Munich! Weather is great and the clouds are just "flying" away to give space for a sunny day!!:D

 

Unfortunately I´ll be off for a family visit.

 

steamboats

[Yggdrasil98]

Steamboats the weather is indeed gorgeous right now, glorious sunshine. However, my health does not permit full day after full day on coaches. Hope your family visit was enjoyable :)

[remydiva]

Yggdrasil98,

 

You should go and visit Munich! Weather is great and the clouds are just "flying" away to give space for a sunny day!!:D

 

Unfortunately I´ll be off for a family visit.

 

steamboats

 

Yes weather in muncih and passau was gorgeous today...didnt get to enjoy it tho as we waited 2 hrs at munich airport for bus to finally leave to take us tomviking njord

 

NO ROBES ON BOARD somthat is a major inconvenience

[marion10]

We are recovering in Budapest from our trip which started on Dec. 23 on the Viking Embla- we only made it as far as Regensburg on the ship. Then bussed to Passau and forced to leave the ship and travel by coach the rest of the way - very disappointing and no free time at all.

[Yggdrasil98]

Marion i am sorry, us too. We have asked to leave, enough. l There's enough waiting to find not a lot. Plans being made, but far too late, and after several days here, we're done. I can see your 3 Viking Ships in Regensberg still and we assumed you were waiting like us.

 

a Uniworld ship was there today but was underway and then has disappeared off my maps, so not sure what is happening there.

[nana541]

As I read the issues of low water both now in Dec and during late summer mobths, I seem to remember talk about the new Longships of Viking having deeper drafts??? That may not be correct terminology but what I remember reading on this board somewhere is about those ships needing slightly deeper water to sail while other cruise lines can manage to get thru these new ships cannot???

The comment that Uniwold ship went thru while Viking did not reminded me of this.....

Comments anyone?

[Yggdrasil98]

Not really able to comment on the long ships, just the fact 3 of Viking's are docked in Regensburg. The problem at the moment is not lack of water and draught of the hull, but boats too high because of huge quantities of water still entering the Danube. We didn't even make it into the Main canal.

 

The Uniworld Duchess that I was tracking on here

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/#

 

has now apparently disappeared off my map system, but she was underway and sailing, in what appeared to be the opposite direction at midday.

 

So we can't move because there is too much water.

[nana541]

My apologies ... Totally different issue and if I would have thought a bit more about it I would have realized that "high water" was the issue...

 

Not a lot Viking can do about that.... The water and the bridges are not in their control.... And moving 3 boat loads of people must be a real tough prospect.

 

Hope everyone manages to retain the Spirit of adventure!

[beverlyjack]

On river cruises, bigger is not necessarily better. The taller ships with grander looking accommodations not only require more clearance under bridges, but also usually draw more water to support the mass above water. The bane of river cruising is water level. The rivers systems are maintained to support cargo, not the constantly growing cruise ships. If you want to minimize potential disruptions due to water level, chose smaller ships.

 

We cruised with Grand Circle a couple of years ago from Amsterdam and Vienna, which we made with careful navigation, but a Viking cruise leaving right after us could not make it to the first stop at Cologne.

[nana541]

On river cruises, bigger is not necessarily better. The taller ships with grander looking accommodations not only require more clearance under bridges, but also usually draw more water to support the mass above water. The bane of river cruising is water level. The rivers systems are maintained to support cargo, not the constantly growing cruise ships. If you want to minimize potential disruptions due to water level, chose smaller ships.

 

We cruised with Grand Circle a couple of years ago from Amsterdam and Vienna, which we made with careful navigation, but a Viking cruise leaving right after us could not make it to the first stop at Cologne.

 

Excellent word of caution!

[Ozjohnno]

In another thread a long time back I noted for CC members the big differences between the drafts of the boats cruising the rivers of Europe. The draft is usually disclosed in the brochures or you can find them by searching the particular vessel online. The reason you hear much about one particular line and seldom hear anything about a couple of others is that there is as much as a 2-4ft difference in the drafts. Just to give you one example and I realise I'll be accused of pushing this companies line again, the Scylla ships used by Tauck have only a 4ft draft and you will seldom read where they have been delayed by either high or low water.

 

It is just another thing to perhaps add to your spread sheet when looking at your next cruise during those periods that the water level may effect your cruise.

 

Rod